Braiding-machine.



Patented May l5, I900.

A. B. DISS.

BRAIDII'IG MACHINE.

(Application filed Dec. 27, 189B. Renewed Oct. 17, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Shut I,

(No Model.)

No. 549,688. Patented May 15, I900. A. B. 0188. BRAIDIIG MACHINE.(Application filed Dec. 27.1898. Renewed Oct. 17, 18991 3 Sheets-Sheet2.

(No Hodei.)

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No. 649,6M. Patented May l5, I900.-

BBAIDINGIAOHINE. 1

(Application filed. Dec. 27, 1898. Renewed Oct. 17, 1899.) (No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet 3.

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ALBERT l3. DISS, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

BRAlDlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 649,688, dated May 15,1900. Application filed December 27,1898. Renewed October 17,1899.Serial No. 733,933. (No model.)

To rtZZ whom it 'ntoq concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT B. Drss, a citi Zen of the United States,residing in the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings,and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in BraidingMachines,of which the following is a specification.

Braiding-machines have been constructed with revolving heads and withspindles carrying the bobbin of thread, and transfer de vices have beenemployed, so as to take the spindle from one revolving head in toanother in order that the path of the spindle may be reversed, suchspindle moving around a halfcircle and being taken and carried aroundanother half-circle standing in the opposite direction. A machine ofthis characteris represented in Letters Patent No. 572,357, granted tome December], 1896. The present invention gives to the spindle a similarmovement but the devices which liberate the spindle from one revolvinghead and lock it rigidly to the next revolving head are positive intheir operations and are very simple and not liable to get out ofrepair. The range of carrier-jaws maybe an arc of a circle or nearly sowhen weaving a braid, or they may be in a circle when braiding a tubularfabric, and the present machine is adapted to use with cords or threadsor with wires, andeach spoolcarrier has an exchange-plate that passes inbetween the jaws, and it is provided with curved slots, and there areexchange-locks in the carrier-jaws that are actuated by cams inliberating the locks, and as the carrier, with the exchange plate, istaken by one of the revolving jaws and brought around to coincide withthe adjacent revolving jaw the exchangeplate hooks around the lockingpin and is thereby firmly connected, and the switchcam which has beenswung automatically by the action of the spool-carriersimultaneouslydisengages the lock-pin, so as to liberate the plate and carrier fromthe first revolving carrier-jaw and allow such spool-carrier to be takenaround the half-circle by the next of the carrier-jaws and from theredelivered to the adjacent carrier-jaw, and so on the respective carriersare taken either in an arc of a circle or around in a circle, and oneset of carriers is going in one direction and the other set is going inthe other direction, and where the range of carrier-jaws issubstantially an arc of a circle the spool-carriers at the end of therange are brought around and reentcred in the carrier-jaw, so as totravel back in the opposite direction.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2 is an elevation. Fig. 3is a section through the carrier-heads and an elevation of thespool-carrier and the spindle thereof, partially in section. Fig. 4 isan elevation of the spool-carrier separately. Fig. 5 is a side view ofthe switch. Fig. 6 is a detached plan of the transfer-plate with thespindle in section, and Fig. 7 shows by perspective views thesafety-cams. I

I have represented in the drawings two of the revolving carrier-jawswhich will illns trate the present improvement, as the machiue isprovided with any desired number of these carrier-jaws, according to thenumber of threads or wires employed in the tubular braid or in the fiatbraid, and this feature being well known in braiding-machines does notrequire further elaboration.

A portion of the bed of the machine is represented at A and it isadvantageous to provide side rails A. The pivots B are supported by thebed, which advantageously is below the operative parts of the machine,and these pivots B stand either vertical or at an inclination, accordingto the character of the machine, it being preferable in a circularmachine to place these pivots at an inclination. The gears O surroundthe respective pivots, and these gears interlock and are driven by anysuitable power, one gear going in the opposite direction to the adjacentgears. Upon each gear there are the carrier-jaws D, there beingpreferably four jaws on each head, and each jaw has at its end recesses5, adapted to receive the spool-carrier E, and it is to be understoodthat the recesses 5 are substantially half-cylindrical, so that when twojaws come opposite to each other the opening between them formed by therecesses will correspond to the spindle or cylindrical portion of thespool-carrier, and there are in the carrier-jaws top and bottomportions, so that the slots 6 or openings between the upper and lowerportions of the jaws are adapted to receive the exchange-plate F of thespool-carrier, such exchange-plate fitting between the parts of the jawswithout looseness and preferably with a slight friction upon thesurfaces of the exchange-plate by contact with the upper and lowerportions of the jaw, and it is to be understood that in the ordinarycircumstances under which the machine is used there will be in each ofthe revolving carrier-jaws two of the spool-carriers and one will begoing in one direction and the other going in the other direction, andthe transfer will be made according to the direction in which thespool-carrier,istraveling, and for these reasons the parts that controlthe exchange of the carrier and its plate from one of the revolvingcarrier-jaws to the other must be constructed so as to work in eitherdirection, and as all of the carrier-jaws and the spool-carriers areconstructed alike it is only necessary to describe in'detail one of suchspool-carriers and one of the jaws upon the revolving carrier.

Each of the carrier-jaws has an exchangelock 7, preferably in the formof a parallels ided round pin, the lower end of which goes into a holein the gear 0, and a spring is employed to raise the exchange-lock, andthis spring is advantageously placed in the hole in the gear, and theupper end of this exchange-lock passes across the slot or opening 6between the jaws, and it is advantageous to provide a guide to preventthe exchangelock revolving.

I have shown a pin at 8 upon a head 9 or lock-trip, which pin passesinto the under side of the revolving carrier-jaw, and this head 9 isacted upon by a cam, as hereinafter described, to pull it down forunlocking the exchange-plate. Referring now to this exchange-plate I itwill seen by Figs. 1 and 6 that there are curved slots 10 coming in fromthe side and near each end of the exchangeplate, and these curved slotsare such that as one carrier-jaw moves around and carries with it theexchange-plate and moves the exchange-plate into the jaw of the adjacentcarrier the slot allows the exchange-plate to go into position with theexchange lock-pin in its elevated position, so that such exchangeplateis firmly locked into the adjacent jaw by the act of the exchange-platebeing carried into position, and it is necessary to draw down theexchange-lock by a lock-trip, here'- inafter described, to allow theexchange-plate to separate from the first jaw that was carrying it andpass off with the second jaw. In consequence of the change of positionand of the direction of motion the inertia of the spool-carrier willtend to make the hook ends of the exchange-plate bind more firmlyagainst the exchange-lock, and hence there will be no possibility of thespool-carrier or the exchange-plate separating from the carrier-jaw thatreceives it and carries it on during ahalf-circle of the movement of thecarrier-jaw.

I find it advantageous to employ a circular hub upon the carrier-plateand surrounding the spool-spindle and fitting into correspondingrecesses in the ends of the carrier-jaws, so as to aid in directing thespool-carrier accurately into position and lessening the possibility .ofthe spindle of the spool-carrier becoming misplaced. Any suitablemechanism may be employed for actuating the exchangelocks, but I preferto employ the switch G, which is pivoted at 11, there being a spring 12around the pivot-screw and bearing upon the switch to apply the desiredfriction for holding the switch in position, or any other suitablefriction may be made use of, as the switch has to be moved first one wayand then the other way, and I also remark that it is advantageous toplace these switches in the manner illustrated in the plan view Fig. 1,with the pivot 11 for one switch upon one rail A and a pivot for thenext switch on the opposite rail, so that the switches stand in oppositedirections, and it will be apparent that in consequence of placing theswitches in this manner the pivot of each switch is in the directiontoward which the jaws at this side of the carriers are moving, and byplacing the switches in this manner I am able to use switches that areall identically the same in construction and operation. The lower end ofthe spool-spindle projects below the lower surface of the carrier-jawand moves slightly above the surface of the switch G, andupon thisswitch 6. are converging cams 13, that stand above its upper surface,and there are cams 14 on the opposite edges and closely ad jacent to butin the rear of the cams 13, and the positions of these converging cams13 are such that thelower end of the spool-carrier spindle E acts uponone of the cams 13 and moves the switch G in one direction, and thismotion is given to the switch before the jaws come exactly in line andbefore the transfer is made, and hence the cam 14: at one side is inposition to act upon the trip 9 of the exchange-lock and pull the samedown, the cams 1a being downwardly inclined, so that the trip passingagainst one of the cams 14 and underrunning it is drawn down, and in sodoing the exchangeplate is unlocked from the carrier that had beenmoving it, allowing the carrier that has taken the exchange-plate tocarry it off for describing a half-circle in the opposite direction.When the next spool carrier comes around, the lower end of its spindlecoming into contact with the other converging cam 13 upon the switch Gmoves such switch in the other direction and brings the opposite cam 14in position for acting upon the trip 9 of the exchange-lock to unlockthe exchangeplate that had been carried by that revolving jaw by thetrip underrunning the cam 14:. The spool-carrier that is going in theother direction passes around the other side of the carrier-jaws, and ineach movement of the switch such switch is left in a position ready tobe acted upon and moved the other way by the lower end of the spindle ofthe spool-carrier coming in the other direction. In this way the switchis caused to act in first one direction and then in the other direction;but the two sides of the switch being exactly alike the action issimilar, but in the opposite direction, and by the devices thus fardescribed the spool-carrier and the exchangeplate are takenautomatically and reliably from the jaws of one revolving carrier to thejaws of the adjacent revolving carrier as these jaws come together, sothat the carriers are moved in one direction by one revolving jaw and inthe opposite direction by the other revolving jaw. Hence thesespool-carriers can be progressed around the machine or from one end tothe other and back again by the transfer from one revolving jaw to theother, such transfers being made in opposite directions, as beforeindicated.

It is advantageous to make the upper surfaces of the earns 14 at thesame height as the top surfaces of the converging cams 13 and to makethe inner vertical surfaces of the projections forming'the cams 1st inthe proper positions, so that these vertical surfaces of the cams 11 maycome against the lower end of the spool-carrier spindle to prevent theswitch moving too far by inertia, and the camsurfaces that act upon thelock-trip being at a downward inclination, as shown in Fig. 5, shouldterminate at a horizontal surface, as indicated, so as to hold down thetrip after it has been drawn down until the exchangeplate separates fromthe jaw so completely as to prevent the possibility of the exchangelockspringing up again and catching the end of the exchange-plate that hasbeen unlocked.

The springs 15, that act to lift the exchangelocks, are protected frominjury in consequence of being in holes in the gears C. In case,however, of the parts not being properly lubricated or of any spring notbeing sufficiently strong to raise the exchange-lock itis important thatsuch exchange-lock should be lifted to avoid any injury to the parts andto prevent either of the spool-carriers falling out, and with thisobject in View the safetycams II are applied upon the rails A of theframe, and each safety-cam is made with an inclined end, against whichthelock-t-rip will run to raise up the exchange-lock into its elevatedposition ready for receiving the slot of the exchange-plate, and thesesafety-cams II are advantageously placed at opposite sides of therespective revolving carrier-jaws, and hence in case any spring is notfully operative the safety-cam raises the exchan ge-lock properly intoposition. As the heads revolve in opposite directions, the safety-camshave to be inclined, as illustrated in Fig. 7, one cam being adapted toact on the lock-trip moving in one direction and the other safety-camacting with the lock-trip that moves the other way.

Upon each spool-carrying spindle E there is a frame 16, with across-piece 17 at the top, that is hinged or pivoted to one side of theframe 16, so as to be opened to allow a spool to be placed over theupper end of the carrier E or removed therefrom, after which thecross-piece 17 is closed and held by a spring 18. These parts can be ofany desired character, and through an arm on the cross-piece 17 there isan eye or guide 19, through which the thread, cord, or wire passes offto the point where the braiding takes place; but such thread, cord, orwire is led from the spool below a grooved roller 20, through an eye 21,over a grooved roller 22, around a grooved roller 23, upon the take-uplever I, and thence below the grooved roller 24, and up through the eyeor guide 19. This takeup lever I is pivoted at 25, and it is providedwith crank-arms 26, one at each end of the pivot, and hence at oppositesides of the frame 16, and one of these crank-arms can be made integralwith the take-up lever I, as shown, and these crank-arms 26 are similarand project toward the spool-carrier E, and hence when the outer end ofeither crankarm is raised the take-up lever I carries the roller 23 awayfrom the grooved rollers 22 and 24 and takes up slack in the cord,thread, or wire and applies the proper tension at the point where thecords, threads, or wires are laid up in the braiding operation, and inorder to give motion to this take-up lever when the spool-carrier ismoving at one side or at the other side of either of the revolvingcarrierjaws I make use of an inclined disk K above each carrie1 -jaw,and such inclined disk is upon an inclined axle or arbor L, which is atthe top end of the pivot-stud B and is revolved around such arbor L by apin 27, passing up into a slot in the inclined disk K, so that theinclined disk rotates with the carrier-jaws,but remains in the inclinedposition, and one of the crank-arms 26 on each spook-carrier passes overthe edge of the inclined disk as the jaws come together for the transferof the spool-carrier, and hence as the spool-carrier is moved around bythe jaw into which it has been received the crank-arm isacted upon bythe edge of the disk that is beneath it coming to the place where theinclined disk is the highest and the highest side of the disk is towardthe center of the machine, where the threads are laid together to formthe braid. Hence the take-up or tightening of the cord, thread, or wireis effected at the proper time, and then the further rotation of thespool-carrier along with the jaw allows the take-up lever to move in theother direction in consequence of the crank-arm resting upon a portionof the disk that is in a lower position. Hence in this manner thetake-up is operated as the spool-carriers are carried around by thejaws. At the place where the spool-carrier is trans ferred from onecarrier-jaw to the other the arm 26 passes off one of the inclined disksK, and the other arm 26 at the other end of the pivot I passes upon theadjacent disk, and to prevent rubbing action the disks K are notchedslightly in front of the portion upon which the end of the crank-armrests, so that as the spool-carrier is tak-en from one revolving jaw tothe other the arm 26 which is leaving one of the inclined disks passesofi the said disk where it is notched, and the corresponding crank-armat the other end of the pivot, resting upon the disk at the carrierjawsthat have received the exchange-plate and disk, is held in acorresponding position, so that the take-up lever is not changed in itsposition by the act of transfer, and the tension is maintained upon thethread, cord, or wire, and the take-up is operative reliablynotwithstanding the transfer of the spoolcarrier from one set of jaws toanother.

In consequence of the aforesaid device for operating the take-up leverthere is no rubbing friction of the parts, and there is simply thefriction due to revolving the inclined disk around its arbor, and anydesired extent of power can be obtained to act upon the takeup, so thatthe same is adapted to wire or other comparatively stiif filaments.

In braiding-machines it is necessary to provide a stop mechanism that isbrought into action when either of the cords, threads, or wires breaks,and I make use of the grooved roller 24 and a lever 28, upon which it issupported, to bring into action the stop-motion.

This lever 28 is pivoted at the back end, and there are slings orconnections 29 between the said lever 28 and the drop-collar 30 thatsurround the spindle of the spool-carrier.

I find it advantageous to employ a wire in a groove at one side of thespool-carrier spindle to form the connection to the drop-collar, andthis at the upper end is bent in the form of a loop passing over thelever 28 to form the sling by which the drop-collar can be raised whenthe roller 24 is elevated and in its normal position; but when the cord,thread, or wire breaks the grooved roller 24 drops, and along with itthe lever 28, sling 29, and drop-collar 30, and it is advantageous tohave a recess in each jaw D, so that when this collar drops it passesinto the recess, and a lever M, adjacent to each of the revolvingcarrierjaws, is in such a position that when the parts are in theirnormaloperative condition the drop-collar 30 passes over the lever M butwhen the thread breaks and the collar drops it engages the lever M tooperate any desired stop-motion, which, being well known, is not shownin the drawings, and when the break in the thread or cord has beenmended or the filament properly replaced the tension upon the same liftsthe grooved roller 24, and with it the drop-collar, so that the latteris not in the path of the stop-lever.

The pin P, that passes through the lower part of the spindle E, hasprojecting ends, and these rest against the surfaces of the metaladjacent to the half-circle recesses in the jaws to lessen the risk ofthe spindle turnin g or becoming misplaced.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the spool-carrier andan exchange-plate there with connected,

of revolving carrier-jaws recessed on their ends to receive the spindleof the spool-carrier and slotted for the reception of the exchange-plateand an exchange-lock for holding the exchange-plate, and a switch toautomatically move the exchange-lock in the revolving carrier-jaws thathave held the ex? change-plate so that such exchange-plate and thespool-carrier may be taken off by the sec ond jaw, substantially as setforth.

2. The combination with the spool-carrier and an exchange-platetherewith connected, of revolving carrier-jaws recessed on their ends toreceive the spindle of the spool=car'- rier and slotted for thereception of theexchange-plate and an exchange-lock formed of a verticalpin and a lock=trip thereon, a switch having converging cams acted uponby the lower end of the spool-carrier spindle to move the switch andedge cams to act upon the lock-trip, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the spool-carrier and an exchange-platetherewith connected, of revolving carrier jaws recessed on their ends toreceive the spindle of the spool-car rier and slotted for the receptionof the exchange plate and an exchan ge=lock formed of a vertical pin anda lock-trip thereon, a switch having converging cams acted upon by thelower end of the spool-carrier spindle to move the switch and edge camsto act upon the lock-trip, and frictional pivots whereby the switchesare held upon the frame of the machine in opposite positions,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the spool-carrier and an exchange-platetherewith connected, of revolving carrier-jaws recessed on their ends toreceive the spindle of the spool-car rier and slotted for the receptionof the exchange-plate and an exchange-lock and a pivoted switch havingtwo sets of cams, one set being used for moving the switch and the otherset for unlocking the exchange-locks, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the spool-carrier and an exchange-platetherewith connected, of revolving carrier-jaws recessed on their ends toreceive the spindle of the spool-carrier and slotted for the receptionof the exchange-plate and an exchange-lock in each jaw normallyoccupying an elevated position, the exchange-plate being slotted so asto engage the exchange-lock and mechanism for liberating theexchange-lock in the jaw that has held the exchange-plate so as to allowsuch exchange-plate and the spool-carrier to be taken by the second jaw,substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with the spool-carrier and an exchange-platetherewith connected, of revolving carrier-jaws recessed on their ends toreceive the spindle of the spool-carrier and slotted for the receptionof the exchange-plate and an exchange-lock in each jaw having alock-trip and a switch piv- ICC IIO

oted upon the frame and having cams acted upon by the spool-carrier tomove such switch and cams acting upon the lock-trip for withdrawing thelock in the jaws that have been holding the exchange-plate, there beingupon the switch flanges that prevent the switch be ing moved too far byinertia, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the jaws and spool-spindle and the mechanism forlocking the spool-carrier to the jaws in succession as the exchange fromone set of jaws to the other is eifected, of an inclined stud and diskand a connection from the disk to the revolving carrier for causing theparts to revolve together, and a take-up lever upon the spoolcarrier andacted upon by the inclined revolving disk to take up the thread or wire,substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with the jaws and spool-spindle and the mechanism forlocking the spool-carrier to the jaws in succession as the exchange fromone set of jaws to the other is effected, of a take-up lever and itsarms and an inclined disk above each set of revolvingcarrier-jaws,foracting upon the arms of the take-up lever as the spool-carrier is moved,a pin for connecting the inclined disk with the revolving carrier-jawsso that they revolve together, the inclined disk being upon an axis atan inclination, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with the jaws and spool-spindle and the mechanism forlocking the spool-carrier to the jaws in succession as the exchange fromone set of jaws to the other is effected, of a take-up lever and itsarms and an inclined disk above each set of revolving carrier-jaws,foracting upon the arms of the take-up lever as the spool-carrier is moved,a pin for connecting the inclined disk with the revolving carrier-jawsso that they revolve together, the inclined disk being upon an axis atan inclination, there being notches in the inclined disk adjacent to theplace upon which the end of the take-up-lever arm rests, so that sucharm passes oif the disk at the notch as the carrier is transferred,substantially as set forth.

10. In a braiding-machine having revolving jaws and spool-carriers andmechanism for holding the spool-carrier as transferred from one set ofjaws to another, of a dropcollar upon the spindle of the spool-carrier,a lever and a grooved roller around which the thread, cord or wirepasses for holding the same up, and a connection from the lever to thedrop-collar, whereby the drop-collar falls into a position to actuate amechanism for stopping the machine when either thread breaks,substantially as set forth.

11. In a braiding-machine having revolving carrier-heads with jaws andspool-carriers and exchange-plates, of locks and safetycams for raisingsuch looks into a normal position to hold the exchange-plates and aswitch to withdraw the exchange-locks, substantially as set forth.

12. In a braiding-machine having revolving carrier-heads with jaws andspool-can riers and exchange-plates, of exchange-locks and springs forraising such looks into anormal position to hold the exchange-plates anda switch to withdraw such exchange-locks and stationary safety-cams forraising the exchange-locks if they are not raised by the springs,substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 21st day of December, 1898.

ALBERT B. DISS.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINoKNnv, S. T. ITAVI'LAND.

